You Should Always Know Your Rival
by girly tomboy
Summary: The night sky was big; too big. To the point where it looked like it was going to swallow her up if he didn't do anything about it.


**Anime: Gintama**

**Pairing: Okita Sougo and Kagura**

**Rating: T (Minor explicit language)**

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to the genius Sorachi Hideaki.**

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Prompt: Stars

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You Should Always Know Your Rival

X

Whenever China was regarded, Okita Sougo prided himself in knowing her almost as much as she knew herself. He knew best how to provoke her, where she tended to aim at him with her trusty umbrella once provoked, how her cerulean orbs would reflect excitement and triumph whenever she landed a hit, and how she would humph with indignation whenever he dodged. But what he delighted in the most was when occasionally, a foreign expression, never before worn, would flit across her smooth complexion and he would have to add yet another thing to his already long list of "Everything I Know About China" (which he swears only exists for blackmail purposes).

And so when he had found China seated on the riverbank during a round of nightly patrols, strangely captivated by the sky, he prepared his mental notepad and pencil and approached her from behind. When he did, she still had yet to notice him, which was strange in itself, as she was always alert with a retort at hand when confronting her sworn rival.

Sougo slightly leaned down to stare at the side of her face and took in her naturally pale appearance, noting the strange expression she donned. Her head seemed to be perpetually tilted toward the night sky. Te two buns she normally had were let loose, allowing the night breeze to lightly rustle her hair back and forth. Her supple lips were opened and she was slightly gaping, which he compared to that of a goldfish.

When he glanced at her eyes, however, he was immediately transfixed. Kagura's usual cerulean orbs had turned a shade brighter. In them held a mix of dazed wonder yet acute awareness, akin to how one would immerse themselves in something to the point where every reflex, every calculated measurement was like second nature to them. The emotions displayed in her bright orbs intermingled to create a web of a harmony that usually contrasted when alone. And in the back of Sougo's mind, he thought of how he wouldn't mind just gazing back at those innocently bright orbs.

He cleared his throat and tried to get her attention.

"You look stupid with your mouth wide open like that, China." She snapped out of her trance and twisted her neck to acknowledge him. He noted that her action was duller, more lackadaisical than normal; when it was merely a reflex to scowl at him.

Brief recognition flashed on her face before it was gone in the blink of an eye and she returned back to gazing at the sky. It irked him how she didn't even throw a retort or another insult his way, opting instead to look at some damn twinkles above them light years away.

But Sougo secretly acknowledged that anything he threw in her direction would go unheeded, at least in her current state. It slightly depressed him how his presence hadn't been enough to distract her with what she was preoccupied with.

Considering it a temporary truce, Sougo wordlessly took a seat beside her and laid down, fingers interlacing underneath his head. He took out his trademark sleeping mask and was about to pull it over his eyes when Kagura's voice interrupted him.

"I rarely saw this many stars back on my home planet." Her voice was unusually soft, but it held a tone of subtle fascination as she reminisced. "It was always raining, and the clouds blocked the view of the sky. The stars are pretty, but I can't help but think how small I am; how helpless I feel."

Sougo glanced at the sky and indeed, there was a plethora of stars scattered in the pitch dark of the night, shining brilliantly down on them, twinkling mischievously as if they knew a secret he didn't.

She slowly reached her hand up until her palm was facing toward the sky, almost as if she was hoping to grasp one of those elusive, twinkling stars in her dainty hand, a slight frown marring her features. And the worst part was that even though Sougo didn't know the reason behind it, he knew exactly how she felt. Memories of his sister's death still lingered in his mind and flooded his conscious at times.

The pain, the loneliness, the guilt of knowing that something, _anything_ could be done; he knew all of it. _'Heh, one of the rare things China and I share,'_ he mused silently to himself. Stealing a quick look back at Kagura, he couldn't help but notice how perfectly her eponym fit, she looking all the part like the stranded _Kaguya-Hime_, who knew she was not of this world [1].

"Tch, ridiculous," he muttered, piquing the interest of his counterpart. He slid his eye mask over his face and abruptly grabbed her waist and yanked her down with him. He moved his hand up to cover her eyes and held her head against his chest.

"If you don't like looking at them, then don't look. Are you turning into a masochist now, China?" He received a huff of indignation and felt her pushing away from him.

"Hah! I never knew sadists had such demented delusions! Don't think your bishounen looks can fool me! Let go, Super Sadist!"

Kagura kept struggling, but to no avail. Sougo had twisted to his side to face her and had already wrapped his available arm around her figure tightly, successfully locking her arms to prevent her from retaliating through violence. And knowing that retaliating through violence was China's favorite thing to do, he had locked his legs around both sides of her own legs so the need to kick him in the nether lands like she always did was not an option.

"Aghh! Damn you! How the hell did you know I was going to-"

"If you think _Danna _and that glasses stand of yours are the only ones that know you, you're mistaken, China. You're quite the pathetic rival if you didn't realize that much. "

He grimaced when she started yelling profanities directly in his ear and had the urge to shut her up. So he all but forced his mouth onto hers, mid-sentence, teeth clashing and all, and greedily shoved his tongue inside her cavern, taking in her unbearably captivating taste, for once not intermingled with disgusting _sukonbu_.

And shut her up he did. Kagura had immediately stilled, ramrod straight, and didn't react when he did his actions, nor when he finally released her mouth from his own. After a silent moment, the realization of what had happened to her sunk in, and almost immediately she blushed a crimson red, spreading all the way to her ears.

Sougo didn't need to look at her still-covered eyes to tell that they held embarrassment in them. Hell, the moment she blushed, he felt her temperature raise up by at least three degrees. He chuckled softly and pulled her even closer to him, if that was still possible. He inwardly smirked when he felt her relax in his arms, but made no move to pull away. There they laid, basking in the moonlight and the twinkling of the stars above them.

X

Long after Kagura had fallen asleep, Sougo had awoken to the feel of the night breeze caressing his bangs, and opted to just gaze contentedly at her sleeping form until he himself fell asleep again. And even though he would rather burn in the depths of Hell than admit it out loud, he thought that her eyes shined brighter than any star could.

He knew long ago that it would be impossible to record every new expression, every new action she threw his way, not when he himself was on the brink of losing it whenever he was near her.

But that didn't stop him from damn well trying.

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**A/N:**

This was actually a prompt requested to me on Tumblr by another user

[1]- Refers to Kaguya-Hime in "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter", who was a princess found on Earth when she was a baby but was from the moon. It was stated that Kagura was named after her, hence the reason I used that reference.


End file.
